Sephiroth has an apprentice!
by Kenpachi Ikari
Summary: Chapter 7 is up
1. Chapter 1

"Heh! Is that all you got left boy!" A tall figure in black laughed. "No….I…can….still….fight" The boy said. He looked about 14 with blonde spiky hair. He was matted with dirt and grass. Around him were broken pieces of rock and cut trees. "You are a persistent one aren't you! What makes you think you can still fight?" The Figure said. "The rule you gave me…..Continue to fight until your body is completely destroyed and can no longer serve its purpose" The boy replied.

The Tall figure sighed and turned around. His silver hair blowing in the wind. "You are an adequate pupil….But you will need to be stronger" He said turning back to the boy. "Yes master Sephiroth…I am weak and need training" The boy replied. "Yet I cannot continue to train you…My time in this world is almost up" Sephiroth said turning away from the boy and looking at the destroyed Midgar.

His silver hair still blowing in the wind. The boy bowed and looked up at his master. "But master. Where will you be going" The boy asked. Sephiroth turned to the boy and smirked. He walked up to the boy and stood him up. "I'm going far away from here……So take care of yourself so that When I return we can have a good fight" Sephiroth smiled walking away from the boy and into Midgar.

The boy returned to his tent where him and Sephiroth had camped out for that day. All through out the night he heard explosions and people screaming as they ran past his camp. He decided to go see what all the screaming was about and ventured into the city. He saw that the city was being destroyed by something. He turned the corner and what he saw startled him. He saw his master fighting another man.

This man with the same type of hair that the boy had. He continued to watch in horror as his master battled on with this man. Then it was as though time had frozen as the boy watch his master killed in front of him. The blonde haired man turned towards the boy. The boy turned and ran as fast as he could from the site.

He got back to his tent and threw himself inside of it. He tried to dream that day away. A few hours later he was awaken from his sleep by the sound of movement outside his tent. He could hear someone's voice. "Are you sure someone is here Tifa?" The voice said. Another womanly voice replied to the first voice. "Yes I'm sure of it…Vincent said that some kid had ran here" It said.

The boy grabbed the Hilt of his sword ready to fight whoever was outside the tent. He saw the front of the tent starting to open and he got ready. As soon as it was half-way opened he slashed at the opening and cut through the tent. He heard a shriek and the sound of gloves snapping. He decided it was now or never and cut the rest of the tent apart so that he could stand and face his enemies.

But before he could launch a single attack he was punched hard in the back of the head and blacked out. When he came to he was lying in an unfamiliar bed. He had no idea where he was….or for that matter who he was. He heard the door to the room creaking open and a very happy voice behind it.

In walked a woman wearing all black and smiling as though she had just found the love of her life. "Well good morning little one" She said smiling at him. He stared at her as though she was crazy. "Uhh Who are you lady" He said in a calm tone. She smiled at him.

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I wondered why she was smiling at me. Did I know her from somewhere? "Listen ma'am…..your creeping me out" I said. The smile vanished from her face and was replaced by an angry expression. She grabbed me by the ear. " Where did you get your manners from?! You don't address an adult like that!" She said angrily.

My ear was starting to hurt more and more as she squeezed upon it. "OUCH! Okay lady I'm sorry!" I yelled. She eased up on my ear and let me go. I rubbed my ear as I death glared the back of her head. "Now….What's your name little one" She asked me. I had no idea what my name was so I just stayed silent. " I don't have one" I told her. She frowned at me and then cracked a smile. "That's okay….What would you like us to call you" She asked.

I sighed and looked around the room until I came across a picture of a man with them same type of hair that I had. I got up and took the picture from the shelf. I read the name that was on the front of the picture. "Strife…..I want to be called Strife " I said. She walked over to me and kneeled down to me. "Okay…If that's what you want….We'll call you Strife" She smiled.

I smiled back and looked around. It was just a plain old bedroom but there were a lot of pictures of this guy with the same hair as me. "Oh…do you need anything? Like something to eat?" She asked sweetly. "I….want to go outside please" I said. She smiled at me and lead me to the door and opened it. I heard the laughter of other kids.

I walked out of the door and looked around. This town was mostly metal from what I've seen. There were merchants and people everywhere I turned. I continued to walk until I felt as though something was wrong. My heart rate started to accelerate and my pupils were probably dilating. I looked around at my surroundings and noticed people looking into the sky. Some of them were starting to run and scream.

They were grabbing their children and running from whatever it was. Before I knew it I was knocked off my feet by a deafening roar. I looked up and it was looking back at me. A giant dragon with a head that looked like metal was staring at me. It just stood there with its mouth open. Before I knew what had happened I was grabbed from behind and pulled away from the thing. Whoever or whatever was pulling me was running very fast away from the dragon.

I looked up at the person and it was the woman whose house I was in. She took me behind the building and told me to stay there and be quiet. She then snapped on a pair of black gloves and ran back towards the monster. I heard a load shriek. My heart had started to accelerate even faster. I thought that it might burst! I heard another shriek and then a load crash.

I looked around the corner to see the dragon standing but no sign of the woman. When the dragon turned around I ran from behind the building and looked around for her. Turns out the crash was her being slammed into a building. I ran over to here and picked her head off of the ground.

I checked for a pulse and quickly found one. I looked over her body and found cuts and bruises along her arms, legs, and torso. There was a little blood leaking out of her mouth. I propped her up against the wall and made sure she was somewhere safe. I turned back to the dragon which looked back at me and roared. "I'm not afraid of you! Your nothing but a giant lizard to me" I yelled at it.

I started to run at it with my fists raised. I knew it was a suicide charge but I didn't care. I was ready to do as much damage as I could. I was right next to it when it knocked me back into a steel beam. I have never felt such pain in my entire life! When I stood up I was greeted with another claw that sent me into the side of a building. I started to cough and saw that blood was being spewed from my mouth.

My heart started to accelerate even more as I saw the dragon stare at me from across the way. He mad a movement to try and hit me again and I closed my eyes and waited for it. I heard something go through the wall and opened my eyes. I looked in horror at the person who had taken the blow. It was that woman again. This time she stayed motionless and the dragon made a move toward her.

At that moment my anger toward that monster exceeded anything I had ever felt before. I felt as though I would explode from the anger alone. "I'm going to kill you!" I yelled. Before I even knew what had happened I had grabbed a hold of a steel pole and jumped out of the building onto the dragon. I started to pound on its skull over and over again. I guess that annoyed it because it started to take flight and shake its head. I held onto it and continued to pound its skull. It started to try and grab me with its claws and managed to grab my leg.

It pulled with such force that I thought my leg was going to be ripped completely off. But I did not abandon my attempt to slay this dragon. It managed to pull me off of itself and roared in my face. It then threw me toward the ground. I thought that I would die as soon as impact but something happened that prevented that. I landed right on my feet which created a crater in the ground. I looked up at the dragon with such hate that if looks killed he would have been dead over a million times.

It turned back towards me and opened its mouth. Inside of its mouth I saw a green light start to form. I knew whatever it was wasn't going to be good. I was about to charge at it again when I was pushed aside by someone with spiky hair. "Get outta here kid.. You don't want to be here when that thing finishes" He said grabbing the hilt of his giant sword.

"No you get outta my way! This thing is mine" I yelled at him trying to rush past him but he pushed me back. "You don't want to die here do you kid!" He said coldly. I looked at him and then back at the dragon whose energy ball had gotten a lot larger.

I was starting to breath heavily from overexerting myself trying to fight that thing. I wanted to stop but something inside of me wouldn't let that happen. It kept telling me "Do not stop! He hurt someone close to you! KILL IT!". I felt my body start to heat up. "Kid get outta the way now!" The man yelled jumping away from me.

The energy that the Dragon had been storing was coming right at me and before I could even think it had enveloped me. Honestly, thought I was dead. I really should learn when to fight and when to duck.

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"Damnit! Why didn't he jump out of the way!" Cloud yelled. He landed on one of the steel beams and looked down at the black smoke where the energy ball had hit. The dragon was standing right in front of the crater and Cloud was about to attack it when it was blasted from the crater into the side of a building.

Cloud looked around for what had hit the dragon but saw nothing except the black smoke. The dragon started to stand up. As soon as it was on its feet it charged back toward the dark cloud. Just as the Dragon smashed through the cloud a figure jumped out of it and right in front of Cloud. Cloud stared at the figure in surprise.

"S-S-Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled. The man smiled at him and dropped back down onto the dragon creating another crater. "You think your tough do you! Well prepare to die" Sephiroth smirked. He grabbed his sword and brought it down onto the skull of the dragon. Before Cloud's very eyes the dragon was completely sliced on two and then obliterated by Sephiroth who afterwards just walked toward a small unscathed building.

Cloud ran after Sephiroth ready to attack him at any given second. He saw Sephiroth round the corner and kneel down. Cloud followed him with his sword raised and rounded the same corner. He stood there gaping at a bleeding Tifa. "Get away from her you monster!" Cloud yelled at Sephiroth bringing his sword down on him.

Sephiroth grabbed his hand and smirked at him. "Don't be afraid for her Cloud, She's going to be fine" Sephiroth said getting to his feet. Sephiroth's sword had begun to disappear and he was starting to get smaller. "Listen closely Cloud! You will not lay a single finger on this body or I will destroy everything you hold dear" Sephiroth laughed.

He started to turn into Strife and then smiled one final time as he completely disappeared. In his place was a shaken and fatigued Strife. His eyes were bulging as he stared up at Cloud. Strife then fainted and landed right next to Tifa who had started to wake up. "Wha…..What happened…Cloud? When did you get here" Tifa said looking directly into Clouds eyes. Cloud averted his eyes from Tifa's and looked at Strife. "That kid…He isn't what he seems to be.." Cloud said looking back at her


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud's eyes drifted back down to the boy that lay in the bed that he had found comfort in. It had been three days since the boy had fallen unconscious after turning back from Sephiroth. Heh, even thinking about Him gave Cloud a bad feeling. "What does he want with this boy…?" He thought. There was no way that he could dismiss it as a onetime thing seeing as he had taken out Bahamut so quickly. Cloud turned around from the room and slowly proceeded down the stairs.

Everyone that he could call friends were sitting around here and there. "So… What's this meeting about Cloud?" Came the soft yet rough voice of a middle-aged man by the name of Cid. "It's about something that is not a threat…yet anyway" Cloud said briefly and out of the corner of his eye he caught sign of Tifa's glare. "And that would be what exactly? A new materia that may be rare involved?" Came the excited and eccentric voice of the ninja girl Yuffie.

Cloud shook his head slowly and smiled a bit at her question. "No…It's about Sephiroth… He may be coming back again" He said slowly while looking from person to person in the room. There was a low sigh and a few gasps. "And what makes you think that?" Cid said staring at Cloud out of the corner of his eye. "It's the boy that I've been keeping with me" Came Tifa's sweet yet firm voice. All eyes, even Cloud's drifted over to look at Tifa who was now leaning on a wall.

"Wait… You have been keeping a kid here and you didn't even tell us?" Cid said sounding depressed. Yuffie started to whistle suspiciously which drew all eyes to here at once. "Okay Okay… I knew about him… We brought him back with us after Tifa knocked him unconscious" She said reluctantly. "Wait... You mean to tell me you had this strange kid hanging around with Marlene?" Came the booming voice of a tall black man, his mechanical hand nearly crushing the pen that he had.

"Barrel came down! Marlene has only seen him sleeping, she doesn't know who he is" Tifa said softly. The man known as Barrel seemed to calm down and his hand released the poor pen. "Now….What gives you the idea that Sephiroth is connected to the boy?" Cid asked once again. "It's because…well…Cloud says he saw him Transform into Sephiroth and kill Bahamut single-handedly." Tifa said shooting a glance at Cloud. "I know I saw him…I felt him too Tifa, You saw him too didn't you?" Cloud said pleadingly yet hoped nobody except Tifa could notice it in his voice.

"I saw Strife falling down in front of me, and Bahamut's claw. Then when I came to, I saw a flash of silvery hair and then just Strife fall back onto the ground" Tifa said softly. Everyone looked from one another and nodded in unison. "Can we see the boy" Barrel said standing from his chair. Cloud looked to Tifa who nodded slowly and lead the way. Everyone crowded around the bed to get a good look at Strife's sleeping figure. "Hmm... He is kind of cute when he's not trying to kill me" Yuffie said softly and brushed her finger down Strife's cheek.

As if by instinct Strife's hand shot forward and grasped her finger, Yuffie was about to pull away in fear. Yet she stopped when she heard him moan "Mom" softly. She smiled and slowly started to stroke his cheek again. "Well... He doesn't look like any Sephiroth that I know of…" Cid finally said and everyone seemed to agree. Tifa was about to say something when Strife's eyes shot open and he looked around the room at the people that were in it. Sufficed to say, he was scared.

He jumped forward from the bed and towards the wall away from them. "W-who are you people?" He said loudly in fear. Yuffie flinched slightly and Cid smiled softly. "Strife…It's alright" Tifa said softly and outstretched her hand to him. Strife slapped her hand away from him and tried to back farther into the wall. It looked as though he were trying to fuse into the wall behind him. Tifa sighed softly and took a step towards Strife once again, this time with a more commanding face. "Strife, come here! Nobody is going to hurt you" Tifa said sternly. Strife winced slightly and made his body tense, He took a step towards Tifa before nearly making her fall as he grasped her waist and hid behind her.

"I-I-I didn't do anything wrong did I?" Strife said softly, his voice quivering with fear. Tifa smiled and shook her head slowly at him. "No, these are our friends…. Barrel, Cid, Vincent, and Yuffie" She said softly, each raising their hand when their names were called. Strife stared at them bleakly and loosened his grip on Tifa slightly. "Well… Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Tifa said softly, edging Strife in front of the group. Strife stared at the strange people and tried to create a smile. "I-I-I'm Strife…. Nice to meet you" He said finishing with a small bow. Yuffie smiled at him sweetly and the others nodded at him stiffly. "You don't seem so dangerous kid… In fact you look like you might need some training" Barrel said laughing lightly.

Tifa looked at Barrel and smirked slightly. "Oh believe me, he might not look it but he can fight" she said resting her arms on Strife's head. Strife stared up at her and back towards Barrel who had a look of utmost interest. Barrel smirked widely and nodded. "Then how about a little sparring match with me kid?" Barrel said smirking. Tifa smirked back at him and nudged Strife forward. "Anytime any place Barrel!" Tifa said competitively. Barrel smirked and beckoned Strife forward.

"How about we do it right now Strife? Right outside in the center of town?" Barrel said confidently. Strife stared at Barrel and then smiled back. "Sure! I want to train some more anyway. So that I can help around here" Strife said smiling softly. Barrel laughed confidently and proceeded to walk towards the door out of the room. "Well… Are you coming or what kid?" Barrel said with a smirk on his lips. Strife nodded and with that Barrel walked out of the door. Strife looked up at Tifa with a look of worry and doubt.

"I don't know if I can fight him… He looks tough" Strife said shaking his head. Tifa smiled and kissed his forehead gently. "Don't worry so much Strife, you'll do fine I swear" Tifa said smiling at him softly. Yuffie walked around the room and smiled sweetly at Strife. "You'll need a weapon won't you?" Yuffie said softly. Tifa looked at Yuffie and snapped her finger. "I knew I was forgetting something, where did we put your sword anyway?" Tifa said softly looking around the room. She sat on the bed to think for a few seconds when she remembered and stood up.

She kneeled down in front of the bed and reached under it. From its depths she pulled a sheath from under the bed, blade still in it. It was wrapped up like that of a blunt weapon, with duct tape. Tifa smiled and unwrapped it quickly and handed it to Strife. Strife stared down at the pitch black sheath and then back up at Tifa. "My sword? I-..I don't remember even having a sword" Strife said softly. Tifa smiled at him and nodded yet again.

"You'll remember how to use it, but first lets go teach Barrel a lesson okay?" She said smirking and pulling Strife along behind her. "He's got his work cut out for him doesn't he?" Yuffie said looking over at Cid and Vincent. They both nodded and walked out of the door after Tifa and Strife, followed by Yuffie. As they walked through town, it still showed the signs of the battle against Bahamut, especially where it had fallen or should I say was cut down to size (Bad pun I know).

Tifa and Strife had just arrived in the center of town, when they saw a large crowd. "Seems Barrel actually wants more than a sparring match, he even sold tickets to watch him lose" Tifa said smirking. Strife chuckled softly as they approached the center, yet instead of seeing Barrel in the center they say Cloud. "Cloud? Where is Barrel?" Tifa asked softly. "I will be Strife's opponent, Barrel withdrew" Cloud said softly, keeping his eyes on Strife. "Cloud… Why do you want to fight Strife?" Tifa asked, almost sounding like she was pleading.

Cloud looked at Tifa and drew his sword. "Its just a sparring match Tifa, everything will be fine" He said smiling slightly.


	3. Octaslash

Kenpachi:Okay.... Here is chapter two of Sephiroth's apprentice... Sorry it took me so long.. But I got so many to upload that I'm going crazy here.... I will work faster to get more out so please bear with me  
Strife:He is an idiot people.... So just read..

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Strife looked towards Tifa, a look of worry in his eyes. Tifa looked from Cloud to Strife and back before nodding. He wouldn't try to hurt the kid, would he? Strife smiled at her and nodded slowly as he slowly walked to the middle of the field.

People backed away slowly as they saw Cloud approach the center after Strife. Strife smiled at Cloud and bowed slightly as Cloud eyed him and grabbed his sword with both his hands. Strife got into a battle stance just the same.

His hand gripping the black sheath as the other gripped the handle. They stood there and watched each other for what felt like hours, neither one of them moving an inch. Strife looked into Cloud's face and saw a smirk cross his lips.

Before Strife even knew what had happened, He was thrown back near the ruined statue. He gasped and looked at Cloud in disbelief at what had just happened. He had not even seen him move at first, but not again. This time Strife charged forward, sheath scraping the ground as he advanced.

He was less than 5 feet from Cloud when he side-stepped to avoid a slash from Cloud's sword. When the blade hit the ground, it cracked and broke on impact. Yet, Strife did not back down from his attack. He pulled his blade from its sheath and then used the sheath as a cover as Cloud's sword swung around in an arc aimed at his mid-section.

The sheath was cut in half, yet Strife had jumped when it made contact. "Now that I'm above him… I have the upper hand" Strife thought to himself as he swung the blade in a downward arc towards Cloud. He was pulled from his thoughts as his blade cut through nothing but air, and a well-aimed kicked connected with his back and sent him to the ground and into a roll.

Cloud scuffed and held the blade with one arm, the blade resting on his back. "Come on kid… You have to be better than that right?" Cloud taunted him. Strife stood from where he had rolled and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

His mind was racing as he tried to think of a good strategy to fight back with. "If I attack from up high, he can dodge me easily…. Frontal attack puts me in range of that giant sword… So maybe an attack from behind" Strife thought as he walked around the arena. His eyes never leaving Cloud, whose eyes did the same.

"Or you can just break his arms to pieces" A voice said softly. Strife stopped moving and looked around for the source of the voice. Yet he could not see anyone around him, or even paying him any attention. He was knocked from his thoughts by movement from Cloud. He had armed himself again and was charging at Strife.

Strife nodded to himself and charged back at him. Cloud again aimed at Strife's Mid-section with a slash which missed him by inches. Strife had been about to dodge behind him when he caught a smirk from Cloud. "Cross Slash" Cloud yelled as he brought his sword for another arc around.

Strife thought if he dodge the first again, he could try it again. Yet, he brought his sword to his side as another strike came from the opposite direction. He could barely see the blurs as he parried and dodge blade after blade from Cloud's attack.

He jumped back far enough so that Cloud's sword could not reach him. "I'm getting beat bad… I think he might be trying to take my head off" Strife thought to himself as he surveyed the field. "Well you could take his head off first you know" That voice chimed in again. "Okay…. Who in the hell is talking to me?" Strife shouted loudly.

The people around him all turned to stare at him, even Cloud stared harder. "Stop being so damn loud, I'm in your head kid" The voice said Strife sweat-dropped and gripped his sword harder. "Okay voice…. So just what are you saying?" Strife thought as he slowly paced the arena, trying to keep his distance from Cloud.

"Just use an attack from in front of him… He uses Cross-Slash again and you use an attack to counter it" The voice spoke softly. Strife had no idea whatsoever what the voice was talking about, yet he didn't have time to argue with it as Cloud had charged at him.

His blade swung again in that same arc, and Strife knew what was coming next. He heard the words and then he saw the blur. He didn't know what to do, trust the voice or not? But his body instead acted on its own. He raised his blade and moved it to his side as though to put it into its sheath.

Right before Cloud's slash made contact, Strife's blade blasted forward and he yelled "Octaslash!". His blade was just as fast as Cloud's, Maybe even faster. It was Cloud's turn to start dodging as slash after slash rained down on him. When the final slash had came down, Cloud had jumped away and was sweating.

His grip on his blade had hardened as he stared at Strife. Did that boy just use Sephiroth's attack? He glanced over at Tifa with a I-told-you-so type of look. She didn't even glance at him, her eyes trained on Strife. While Strife tried to catch his breath in giant heaves.

That last had taken a lot out of him, more than he thought he had. Wait, since when did he even know an attack like that? His grip on his blade softened a little with fatigue as he stared at Cloud. Cloud swallowed and charged at Strife again, blade ready to slash at his head.

Yet he stopped in his tracks as he felt a very familiar feeling. His eyes glanced up at the sky to see that clouds had started to roll in. Dark clouds to be more precise, and they seemed to be swirling. While everyone was staring up at the clouds, Cloud's eyes had caught a glimpse of Silvery hair in front of him.

His eyes immediately snapped to Strife, just to widen in shock. He was kneeling with his blade stabbed into the concrete below him. His hair was flashing from his normal black to silver every few seconds. Strife picked himself up from the floor, his hand still holding the hilt of his blade.

His head cocked upwards towards Cloud and Cloud looked as though he had a heart attack. Staring back at him were those eyes that he hated to see. Strife's face seemed to change half-way into the same face that he came to know as the most evil being he ever faced.

"Cloud…. You look Tired" Strife said, his voice dark and evil. Cloud raised his sword and held it tight. "What do you need with the boy Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded, his eyes glaring. Strife chuckled softly to himself and stared right into Cloud's eyes.

"Don't you know… He's my apprentice… My vessel" Strife said before collapsing back to the ground. The clouds above them clearing slightly and Cloud placing his blade on the ground. He glanced over at Tifa, who was looking back at him and nodded. Cloud was right, Strife really did harbor Sephiroth. Would he become like him? Or would he stay the same Strife that the others were warming up to?


	4. Not so simple

Kenpachi Ikari: So here is another upload... Hopefully the next is not too far behind it  
Strife:.....Really starting to hate you.... But thank god you did..  
Kenpachi:So I love you all... So...Do it Strife!  
Strife:*Sigh* Kenpachi Ikari does not own the copyrights to Final Fantasy 7 nor anything associated to it, except for me his Oc character, and whatever else he adds...

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Tifa quickly rushed over to the downed boy and picked his head off from the ground. She softly placed her fingers and sighed in relief, he still held a pulse. She heard a few footsteps from behind her and turned just enough to make out the boots of the person behind her. "Tifa...." Cloud said softly, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. Tifa raised her hand that was checking Strife's pulse to his hand, grasping it softly.

"Well…..We can't just abandon him now… can we?" Tifa said softly, quickly wrapping her arm around Strife and picking him up. She nearly fell backwards when she got up, not from him being overweight, but because of how light he was. Cloud was about to protest to this action when Tifa turned and smiled at him. He knew that smile pretty damn well; it was the I-don't-care-your-doing-it smile.

He absentmindedly scratched the back of his head and nodded as she started to walk past him. When she was but a few steps away from him, she was quickly joined by Yuffie who had a look of worry on her face. Cloud stared at the pair of them and sighed deeply. A rough hand landed on Cloud's shoulder, making him flinch slightly as he looked back at whose hand it was. Barrett smiled down at him, eyes switching from him to the retreating Tifa and back.

"Yeah, you just can't win against the woman can ya'?" He said gruffly, before following after the pair of women. Cloud breathed another deep sigh and quickly followed after them. By the time Cloud had reached Seventh Heaven, everyone seemed to be gathered in the bar as normal. Except for Tifa, who he knew was probably tending to Strife's wounds. "Well, I can say that something definitely isn't right with the boy…." Cid said softly, breaking the eerie silence between them all. "Yeah….So lets get rid of the kid and be on our way" Barrett said gruffly, getting to his feet and motioning to walk towards the back room where Tifa and Yuffie had taken Strife.

He was stopped as a pair of scarlet eyes looked at him from the darkness of the doorway. Vincent slowly stepped from the door leading to Tifa and closed it softly, eyes never leaving Barrett's. "Tifa said to stay out, unless you want her to hurt you" Vincent said simply, moving to stand in the dark corner of the room. Barrett groaned in defiance and quickly rushed to the door, grabbing the handle and rushing in. Everyone sighed softly, followed by Cid counting down from 5. "5…..4….3….2…1…and" He said just as the towering figure of Barrett came hurdling back into the room, followed by the soft click of the door closing again.

In mere seconds, Tifa appeared from the hall, eyes focused on Barrett and a smile plastered on her face. Barrett quickly got to his feet and inched away from the smiling woman, who took this moment to crack her knuckles. Cid shook his head and looked over at Tifa. "So how's the kid Tifa?" He asked trying to stave off the tantrum that everyone knew was coming.

"He's awake, he's in the back talking to Yuffie, and I would have still been back there if not for the Lummox here" She said softly, a hint of anger in her voice. Barrett bowed slightly, muttering his apologize over and over again in an attempt to not get attacked again. "Cloud, he wanted to apologize to you for fainting during your spar" She said softly, turning away and walking back down the hall. Before Cloud could even process the information, he heard an annoyed Tifa scream "YUFFIE!"

Everyone grabbed their respective weapons and quickly charged the room to see what was going on. Strife was blushing, and giving Yuffie an awkward side-glance, which Yuffie seemed to mirror. "Care to tell me just what the hell you were doing?" Tifa asked softly, yet her voice held a malicious tone. "Uhh… well you see Tifa, I was checking his temperature…..And I slipped!" She said softly, looking over to Strife. Strife looked up at Tifa and then nodded quickly. "That's what happened here , it's all a misunderstanding" He said softly, a light chuckle escaping his lips.

He looked into Tifa's eyes and then around at the others, thinking that she had bought that story. Before he had even known what had happened, he was hoisted up off the bed by his ear, a still smiling Tifa looking down at him. "Now Strife, Lies will not be permitted in this house" She said calmly, grabbing Yuffie's arm so that she couldn't escape. Strife and Yuffie stayed silent, neither daring to glance in the other's direction. Tifa sighed and released them both, making Strife grab onto his throbbing ear, and Yuffie to grab her arm.

"Umm…Tifa, just what the hell is going on?" Cid piped up, his eyes darting to Strife and then to Yuffie. Tifa shook her head and turned to face the group, a look of worry hinted in her eyes. "I caught them kissing when I walked back in" She said sternly and calmly. Strife looked over towards the faces of the others, each one of them holding an expression of pure surprise and confusion. Yuffie swallowed hard at the look that everyone was throwing her.

Then something else happened that nobody expected to happen in their lifetime. Vincent Valentine, the most stoic and expressionless person they had ever known, busted into a fight of laughter. Yuffie took this moment to make her escape outside of the door, as everyone gawked at Vincent. She had just about made it, when a gloved hand snapped onto her shoulder and pulled her back with such force that she tumbled into Strife and fell accidently into the bed in a most, compromising position.

Tifa looked upon the two in fury and screamed at the top of her lungs "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO!?!" This earned an even harder laugh from Vincent, making everyone near him, including Cloud, slowly inch away from the man.

"If Vincent was laughing, then the apocalypse was just about to start, Oh joy" Cloud thought as he looked around at Tifa scolding the now blushing Yuffie and Strife. "How in the hell can this kid contain Sephiroth? Let alone become him?" Cloud thought, his eyes glued on Strife's, that for the split second, he thought he saw a flash of light-green, the mark of a Solider.


	5. Never venture Midgar alone

Kenpachi:Okay... Long overdue but here it is.. Chapter 5...  
Strife:We had to add atleast one more character guys... Just to make sure that everyone has someone else..  
Vincent:That and you had about 10 friends hounding you at school...

* * *

Time had begun to fly very quickly in the Seventh heaven bar. It had been three days after the darkening of the skies and Cloud's spar with Strife. Cloud had yet to begin warming up to the boy while everyone else had developed a liking for him. Strife had become a quite helpful counterpart around the Seventh heaven, especially when it came to work.

Having agility that he had not even known he possessed, he made a prime busboy. He would get around to different tables faster than Tifa used to be able to, and he was also able to balance a lot of dishes on his arms and hands. Tifa was very amazed at how this boy handled himself, but then again she knew another busboy that had done a very similar job.

Strife sighed in exhaustion as he put the last dish up into the cabinet, having just finished washing the remainder of the dishes from the night shift. He smiled at his work, not a single dish was dirty or out of place. It had been another successful day working at Seventh Heaven, seeing as there were no problems.

He looked towards the doors that lead outside the bar and then back towards the hall where his room was located. _'I don't think would mind if I snuck out for just a bit….' _Strife thought to himself as he took off the white apron he had been wearing. Luckily it was dark, so his already dark clothing allowed him to blend in with the darkness outside.

He quietly opened the door, and then slowly proceeded outside of it. He closed it softly behind him with a light _click_ and smiled to himself. He turned from the door and started his walk, trying to find something entertaining to do. While he walked, he thought over a few things that had been bugging him.

Things like where did he come from, who were his parents, why did Cloud avoid him like the plague, and why he avoided Yuffie after that incident. "Maybe I should go talk to her…. I mean I did enjoy that kiss… But it just, didn't feel like I was doing the kissing" Strife said calmly to himself, placing his hands into his pockets and looking up at the sky.

The moon shined beautifully, illuminating nearly everything that its light touched. Strife smiled up at the moon, forgetting to watch where he was going. Before he knew it, his head had made contacted with a very hard object. He fell backwards onto his back from the impact and groaned in pain. Strife quickly sat up, grabbing hold of his head with both hands.

He quickly looked up to see what he had run into, only to see scorched wall barely erect in front of him. He growled at the wall, before standing to his feet and kicking the wall softly. "Stupid wall…. How is it that you're always there at the worst moments…?" Strife said softly to himself, turning away from the wall to try and find the moon.

Too bad for him that the moon had chosen that moment to hide behind a cloud, blocking itself from his view. Strife was quick to express his anger about it, screaming 'Damnit' at the sky. He growled to himself and was about to turn around, until his eyes caught a glint of silver and everything went black.

Back at the Seventh Heaven, Tifa was pacing around the bar angrily yet worried at the same time. "Where the hell could he be? He usually tells me that he's going out!" Tifa said softly, continuing to pace the room. Vincent sat at one of the tables, watching his friend walk back and forward between tables.

"Tifa…..Don't overexert yourself…. I'm sure the boy will be fine" Vincent said softly, his voice barely above that of a whisper. Tifa stopped pacing and looked towards Vincent, a sigh escaping her lips. "Maybe your right…. I'm sure he can handle himself if anything does happen to him…" She said softly, turning to walk back down the hall but stopping mid-step.

"But he doesn't have his sword! Can he fight hand to hand?" Tifa shrieked suddenly, resuming her pacing in an even quicker pace. A sigh escaped Vincent's lips as he shook his head and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "Vincent! Go out there and find Strife!" Tifa said suddenly, reaching out to shake Vincent till his eyes were open.

Vincent sighed again and softly grabbed Tifa's hands. "Don't you think your being a little overprotective? What, do you think the next time you see him he's going to be covered in blood and damn near unconscious?" Vincent said darkly, softly pushing Tifa's hands from his form.

As soon as the last word left his mouth, he wished he had never even said it. Tifa started to panic even more than before. Even though she had only know him for a week, he had become like part of the family, and she just loved it when he would slip and call her mom. She turned on Vincent again, eyes burning with a motherly glow.

"YOU GET YOUR GOTHIC ASS OUT THERE AND FIND HIM VINCENT VALENTINE!" Tifa seethed, hands grabbing his shoulders more firmly than before and pulling him to his feet. He knew he had no way of getting out of this, so he might as well just get it over with. "Fine…. I'll go find Strife and bring him back…" Vincent relented, snatching himself away from Tifa's grasp and turning towards the doors.

He could hear Tifa breathe a sigh of relief as she shuffled away in the opposite direction. 'If she wanted him back so bad… Then why the hell isn't she going to go look for Strife?' Vincent thought to himself, earning him a small grunt of agreement from the back of his head. He knew it was Chaos, but decided not to get into an argument with his inner demon, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

He looked up and down the street from the outside of the bar, no sign of Strife. 'Well if the kid is healthy as Tifa said… Then my best bet would be to scale the rooftops' Vincent though, looking up at the roof of the bar. He jumped and easily grabbed hold of the ledge with his metallic hand, pulling himself up quickly and with ease.

He still saw no sign of Strife, so he decided to get moving and fast. With inhuman agility, he started to jump from building to building, eyes trained on every single thing that he passed. His eyes watching for even the slightest of movement amongst the shadows. His eyes caught sight of movement to his right, and he automatically brought his body to a halt.

He turned towards where he had seen the movement, metallic hand gripping the handle of his gun. "Strife..? Tifa wants you back at the bar now or there will be hell to pay" Vincent said sternly, getting closer and closer to drawing his gun. There was no answer, which cause Vincent to pull his gun and aim it towards the shadows. Eyes trained to see even a hint of what he was aiming at, ready to pull the trigger if it was a monster.

Yet, what emerged was not a monster, but Strife himself! Vincent sighed in relief and lowered his gun slightly, only to quickly lift it at the sight of Strife's face. There was a large bleeding gash across the bridge of his nose, and his shirt was nearly torn to shreds, pieces of it wrapped and tied around both his arms.

The makeshift bandages had turned completely crimson, barely able to contain the blood that was starting to seep through them. Vincent jumped down from the roof and quickly to Strife's side, gun up and hammer already set to fire. Upon closer inspection, Vincent saw that Strife's left arm looked broken and his legs had smaller lacerations than his arms, yet he was losing blood all the same.

"What the hell happened to you Strife?" Vincent questioned, eyes looking around for movement from anything else. "I-I-I don't know! I-I was wa-walking around... A-And the next th-thing I k-know… Th-there was a silver l-l-light… and I blacked out…. Wh-when I came to… Some person was standing ov-over me in wh-white…. Th-there was a shriek of laughter and I ran for it…. Wh-whoever it is… Was...Is still chasing me… I-I'm so scared…. I-I wa-want t-to go home! T-take me home Vincent p-please!" Strife managed to say, before the tears started to rain down his cheeks.

Mixing with the already drying blood and making it run down his face in crimson droplets. Vincent was about to try and comfort the boy, when he spotted movement. He aimed his gun towards the movement, barely breathing as he waited for his target. Yet, before the figure moved into his line of sight, its maniacal laughter broke out all around him. Echoing off the walls, as thought it had surrounded them.

Vincent froze for a second, mind trying to comprehend the location. 'Wait… Why does this laughter sound so….Familiar to me?' Vincent thought to himself. He heard the scraping of metal against brick, and the sound of something being dragged through the dirt. When his eyes caught sight of the figure emerging, he nearly dropped his weapon.

His lips parted in a dry heave, eyes scanning the smirking face of the figure he thought he would never see again. "Hello Valentine darling….Happy to see me?" Came the voice of the figure, a Russian accent coating the words. His eyes scanned over her features, he had to be sure of it. Her hair was matted and dirty, yet even in the moonlight he could make out that it was indeed red.

Her body encased in armor that he had not seen in five years. It was the armor that the Deep ground Organization had worn. The black boots that he remembered ended mid-calf, were nowhere in sight. Her gripped the handle of his gun even harder, hand steady on the trigger.

* * *

"Rosso the Crimson… What the hell are you doing alive?" Vincent said sternly, earning him another sadistic smile and soft laughter from the woman.


	6. Crazy women wear red!

Kenpachi:Number two of the three... Introducing someone more bloodthirst then even me!  
Strife:...I hate you so much!  
KenpachI:Don't care... evil... now do the deed!  
Strife: He does not own anything related to Final Fantasy or the characters in it... except his own characters

* * *

"Rosso the Crimson… What the hell are you doing alive?" Vincent said sternly, earning him another sadistic smile and soft laughter from the woman. It was true; she was standing here right in front of him. The most infamous among the Tsviet, the most bloodthirsty of them all, Rosso the crimson. He could make out her facial features thanks to the dim moonlight and the glow from the usually blue light of her deepground uniform, which seemed to be glowing white.

She smiled her sadistic smile and calmly walked towards Vincent, weapon dragging across the ground. Vincent started to walk around her, making it seem as though they were two predators walking around each other, poised to strike and show dominance. "Well Vincent Darling…. You did not answer me….. Are you happy to see me?" Rosso said softly, a slight frown gracing her features. Vincent stayed silent and pushed Strife with his metallic arm so that he could hide Strife from view behind him.

Rosso's eyes followed his movement, back to the fragile little boy that she had been toying with to ease her boredom. "Oh… So he is with you Valentine…. Do you think he still wants to play?" Rosso said evilly, Eyes flashing a deeper hue of red then they already were. "Stay away from him Rosso…." Vincent said sharply, making sure to aim the gun directly at her head. Rosso stopped walking and slowly raised an eyebrow towards the barrel of the gun.

"Why darling! I had no idea you still held such animosity towards me….. I thought I beat that out of you when I carved my initials into your chest" Rosso said dryly, eyes looking directly into Vincent's. Vincent absentmindedly moved his free hand up to his chest and rubbed it, his grip on the gun tightening even more if possible. Strife looked on from behind Vincent, scared out of his wits and already feeling as though he was going to piss himself.

Nearly as soon as he looked at the woman, her eyes snapped right to his, a sadistic smile appearing on her lips. "Come here little one…. I want to play a game with you" She said in a commanding tone, taking a few steps towards Vincent and Strife. That's what set Vincent off, his finger pulled the trigger and its screech echoed in the dark night. Yet, instead of one shot, Strife heard the gun continue to fire. He opened his eyes, only to stare in utter amazement.

The woman named Rosso in front of him was dodging the bullets, as though she was dancing. She was still wearing the same exact smile, steadily walking closer to them. He looked up towards Vincent, only to notice that he was now only holding a cloak. He looked forward, only to see Vincent and the woman deadlocked with each other. "STRIFE! Run back to Tifa! I can handle her!" Vincent yelled, pushing Rosso back a few inches, to which her smile vanished.

Strife did not need telling twice, as he quickly turned on his heel and bolted down the alleyway. As he turned down the alley, he heard a grunt and then a crash that sounded oddly like a wall being smashed in. He smiled to himself, thinking that it was the woman who Vincent had smashed through the wall. He rounded another corner, and stopped dead in his tracks. His entire body froze in fear, and his mind and heart both stopped working for a second.

Standing in front of him, with a look of pure evil and triumph, was Rosso the Crimson. But it wasn't the sight of her that scared him this much, it was the fact that the air around her seemed to thicken and twist. It appeared to him that there was a red like aura floating around her, amplifying her menacing feeling. "Well well well…. Did you think I would let you get away boy?" She said coldly, taking a step towards Strife.

His brain was telling his feet to turn and run, but his body just wouldn't listen to him. "Now… shall we continue our game? I think we were at this part!" Rosso said grimly. Before he knew it, she had disappeared from view and he was alone again. Just when he was about to breath a sigh of relief, he heard a sickening crack and a wave of pure pain ripped through his body. He dropped down to the ground, grabbing onto the now completely broken arm and screamed in pain as loud as he could.

"Hmmm… did you hurt yourself darling" Her voice seemed to coo into his ear, making his eyes widened. He heard her shift, then felt her iron clad foot stomp on his back. He yelled out again in agony, which earned him another stomp to the back. Rosso smiled down at the boy, surprised that she had yet to break his spine in two. She removed her foot from his back and placed it under his stomach, using it to roll him over onto his back.

She wanted to see his face when he cried out in agony; she wanted to see the blood drip down from the side of his mouth if and when she hit him hard enough. "Scream all you want… Vincent is asleep and nobody can help you….." Rosso said sadistically, raising her foot again and stomping down on his chest. Strife took in a large intake of air when her foot connected, his scream louder than the lasts.

He felt his ribs buckle under the pressure and heard the crack of one of them breaking. Rosso laughed sadistically, stomping down on his chest four more times in rapid succession. Her smile growing ever time he screamed louder, watching as the blood dripped down the sides of his mouth. Yet, as she normally does, she got bored with it. She knelt down next to the barely conscious Strife, watched as tears leaked down from his eyes and mixed with the running blood.

She moved the metal of her brace across his face, leaving small cuts as the metal bit into his skin. "Hmmm… I'm surprised your still alive boy…. A normal person would have died ten times over by now… Let's see if you can survive being cut to ribbons" She smirked, dragging her sharp armored hand down Strife's front, slicing through the bloodied shirt and cutting into his flesh, leaving crimson lines of red in their wake.

Strife just wanted it all to end, he was ready to die and be free of the pain. His eyes connected with Rosso's, and he saw the devilish smirk play across her features. He saw her raise her hand to strike, knowing that it would ripped through his flesh and out the other end. He saw her hand start to drop down and quickly closed his eyes, not wanting to see it as it ripped through him and end his life.

He waited for the pain, and yet it never came. He slowly opened one of his eyes, only to see Rosso looking away from him, a look of utter hatred and anger in her eyes. He looked towards her hand, to see it shaking in the air, trying desperately to move downward. But it was being held in place by a black glove. Strife followed from the glove up towards his Savior's face, only to see a very pissed off Tifa standing above them.

Still holding Rosso's wrist, she turned away and grabbed on with her other hand. Rosso was lifted into the air and swung away from Strife, and landing a few feet away. "You damn woman! How dare an insect like you put your hands on me and interrupt my fun!" Rosso screeched that reddish aura around her darkening.

"I don't give a damn lady… But nobody hurts my friends around me!" Tifa sad coldly, tightening her black leather glove around her hand. Rosso spat at the ground and charged at Tifa, who in turn charged back. Strife looked on just as the two neared each other, but the last thing he heard was someone say "Psycho Bitch" before he passed out completely.


	7. Breakfast with the gang

Kenpachi:So far.. I'm keeping good on my promises...  
Toya:Yeah.. So far you are...  
Strife: I'm proud of ya!

* * *

Silver eyes opened, starring around at their surroundings. This room looked so familiar, and even smelled familiar. Strife sighed in exhaustion, trying to sit up in the bed. He found himself groaning in pain and agony as he lay back down on the bed.

He looked down to his left arm, noticing the sling that it was placed in. Wait, he was in pain and his left arm was in a sling, probably broken. What the hell had happened to him last night? As he sat there pondering this, he heard soft footsteps from outside the wooden door. He closed his eyes quickly, as to try and trick whoever it was into thinking he was asleep.

He heard the wooden door creak open slowly, and then footsteps. But whoever it was that had walked into the room, allowed a very delicious scent to follow them in. He still tried to put of the facade of being asleep, but then he felt a soft touch trace its way down his cheek. When the finger moved away, he did all he could to suppress the urge to sigh in relief.

He heard the light taps of the person's footsteps, and thought that he had made it through the worst. Only to be betrayed by his stomach, that seemed to take this moment to let out a loud growl. The footsteps had stopped, and he hoped that the person was too far away to have heard the growl. Yet, his prayers were ignored as he heard the footsteps approaching again, this time louder and in rapid succession.

He felt the hand cup his face, and then another hand on his chest. "Wake up….Please wake up Strife…." Came a soft angelic voice, which Strife recognized quickly. He slowly opened his eyes, hoping that he was not mistaken. He sighed in relief as he looked up into Tifa's smiling face, a small tear threatening to break from her eye. Strife smiled back up at her, truly relieved to see her. "Hey there …It's good to see you" He managed to say weakly, trying not to put to much stress on his chest.

"Strife…. I'm so happy that you're alive" Tifa said softly, clasping her hands in front of her mouth. "Yeah… So am I" Strife said softly, a small chuckle escaping his lips. Before he even realized it was coming, he felt the sharp sting of Tifa's hand across his face. He yelped in surprise and tried to retreat away from her, only to find himself falling swiftly off the bed. And as if his luck wasn't bad already, he just happened to land directly on his injured ribs, causing him to howl in pain.

"Oh dear! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tifa apologized, running around the bed to Strife's side, picking him up to his own feet. He gritted his teeth painfully, as he stood for himself. His ribs were throbbing, and his stomach was still growling loudly. "You must be hungry, after all you were asleep for quite a long time" Tifa said softly, hoisting his arm around her shoulder to help him walk.

"It was just one night… probably not even more than a few hours" Strife said softly, pushing the door open with his foot, trying not to put to much strain on Tifa. "Strife… You've been out of it for two weeks….. We thought you were in a coma" Tifa said softly, bringing herself to a halt at Strife's shocked expression. 'Two weeks? How the hell had he been asleep for two damn weeks? I don't even remember dreaming of anything that could have lasted for two damn weeks!' Strife thought to himself, trying to sort things out in his mind.

But the alluring smell from the kitchen snapped him from his thoughts, but rose a rather interesting question. ", if you're not in the kitchen cooking… Then who is?" Strife said questioningly, to which Tifa remained quiet and pulled him after her towards the kitchen. Still contemplating his question and looking at Tifa when they rounded the corner, Strife did not notice the red blur of hair in the kitchen.

When he found that he could get nothing out of Tifa, he turned to look forward, only to stare wide-eyed at the one cooking. Brown eyes met Crimson ones, a small smile sat on rose colored lips. "Strife darling… You're finally awake! I hope your hungry, I made breakfast…. There are sausages, bacon, eggs, and Fren-" Rosso managed to say, before Strife's outburst cut her off. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Strife shouted, removing his arm from around Tifa's shoulder and backing against the nearest wall.

Rosso stared at him, her face showing her confusion. "Well, that's quite a rude thing to say to your sister don't you think? Especially after I was so worried about you!" Rosso said softly, raising the spatula in her hand in anger. Strife would have shouted that she was not his sister, had a red blur not grabbed him and pulled him back towards the hallway. When the blur released him, he found Vincent staring at him, face half-hidden behind his cloak.

"Strife, we need to talk…. About her" Vincent said softly, pointing down the hall, back towards the Kitchen. "TALK ABOUT WHAT? That the crazy woman who tried to kill BOTH of us is in the kitchen! Serving up devil eggs and French toast! Hell, she's probably trying to finish the job! They're probably poisonous!" Strife all but yelled at Vincent. Vincent let out a soft sigh as he looked down at his clawed hand and back at Strife.

"She doesn't know that…. Apparently she lost her memory" Vincent said quickly, waiting to see Strife's reaction. "Well then I say we lose her before she finds her twisted damn Memory!"Strife said angrily, wanting to run down the hall and stab the red-haired woman in the neck with her own spatula. "Strife…. She lost her memory… What threat could she possibly be to us?" Vincent pleaded, trying to calm Strife down.

Yet, his words had the opposite effect, which he soon saw as Strife struggled to raise his broken arm. "She's one hell of a threat Vincent! She almost killed me! She broke my arm, my ribs, and nearly ran me through with her own damn hand!" He screamed, his unbroken hand balling into a tight fist. "Strife, she lost her memory… Just like how you have no memory of what happened to you!" Vincent shouted back, shoving Strife against the wall.

Strife stared at Vincent angrily, eyes staring right into his crimson orbs. He grunted and moved to the left, only to have Vincent block him. He tried again with the right, but found the same force blocking him yet again. "Promise me that you will go along with it, until we find out what to do with her…" Vincent said softly, eyes trained on Strife. "Why the hell should I? If you haven't noticed, I WAS DAMN NEAR IN A COMA BECAUSE OF HER!" Strife yelled, managing to get past Vincent and rushing into the kitchen.

When he arrived there, he found Rosso and Tifa setting plates on the table, making idle conversation. "Hey Rosso! I got something to say to you!" Strife spoke, trying not to raise his voice and scream like he wanted to. "What is it Strife? " Rosso asked, tilting her head slightly to the left. Strife was about to tell her off, but then Tifa caught his sight. The way she looked at him, made his limbs freeze and his mouth dry.

She shook her head slowly, before turning away from him and continuing to se the table. "Strife? Did you want to tell me something" Came Rosso's voice, snapping Strife back to his predicament. "Umm….Uhh… Yo-you forgot the juice! I just remembered that there was no juice in the fridge last time I checked" Strife said quickly, making up the lie on the spot. Rosso looked at him questioningly, before smiling and nodding at him.

"Don't worry about the juice Rosso, Cloud already went out to get some" Tifa piped in, smiling as she stood beside Strife. Rosso smiled and nodded, turning back to the food and quickly dishing it out from plate to plate. Strife noticed that there were six different plates on the table, but only four of them in the house, five if you count Cloud returning from the store. "Umm…. _Sis,_ Who is the 6th plate for?" Strife said softly, after taking his seat at the edge of the table, hopefully away from Rosso.

"Yeah, I was wondering that when you put it down Rosso" Tifa said softly, looking from Strife to Rosso. "Oh yes that… Well Mr. Cloud called while you were waking up Strife, and said that he ran into your friend Yuffie on his way back, said she would be coming to" Rosso said cheerfully, completely unaware of the look of horror that was plastered onto Tifa's face. 'Well that look can't mean something good is about to happen' Strife thought, just as the opening of a distant door signified that Cloud and Yuffie had indeed arrived.

Tifa quickly hopped from her seat, and rushed towards the opening leading from the kitchen to the bar, only to be nearly knocked over as a very concerned looking Yuffie rushed past her. "Strife! Oh, I thought you were a goner kid! How do you feel? Are you hurt?" Yuffie asked, checking out every square inch of Strife that she could see and reach. Strife heard a soft snicker, and nearly automatically averted his gaze towards Rosso, who was looking back at the two of them with a smile on her lips.

"Why Strife! I had no idea you were such a ladies man!" Rosso said softly, folding her hands over her chest in amusement. Yuffie went from being concerned to very angry in a moment, turning to face Rosso. "Just who the hell are you lady! Are you the one that did this to him! Come to think of it, you do match the description that Cloud gave me" Yuffie yelled at Rosso, her voice mangled with anger.

Rosso was about to comment, when a loud yelp of pain echoed from the bar, followed by a smiling Tifa and Cloud, the latter which was rubbing a very red spot against his cheek. Everyone quickly looked at Tifa, who still wore her smile on her face. "There was a bug on his face, and I panicked… Nothing serious" Tifa said softly, sitting down at the table and picking up her fork.

Yuffie growled and stared at Rosso before turning back towards Strife. She shook her head and was about to sit down next to him, when a red blur shot past her and took the seat. Yuffie had to blink a few times to make sure that her eyes were working right, when she say Rosso sitting in her seat, with her arm around Strife's shoulder. "Come now darling… You have to eat up!" Rosso proclaimed, picking up a piece of sausage with Strife's fork and putting it to his mouth.

Reluctantly, Strife allowed himself to take a bite of the sausage, the taste mesmerizing his taste buds. Never in all his life, could he remember something tasting this good! When she put up another piece of sausage, he quickly took a bite of it. He chewed in pure delight, his stomach agreeing with him after not having anything to eat in two weeks. He stopped chewing when the table shook violently, causing him to look across the table in confusion.

It seemed that Yuffie had decided to take the seat directly across from him, and had pretty much skewered her sausage with her fork, cracking the plate in the process. She was eyeing him and Rosso suspiciously, which made Strife shift in his seat. "Yuffie… Is something the matter?" Tifa asked softly, concern coating her words. Yuffie slowly turned towards Tifa; she put up her best fake smile and shook her head slowly. "Everything is A-Okay Tif" She said through clenched teeth.

Tifa was not convinced, but she decided to let the conversation subside for now. Rosso smiled to herself and released Strife, to tend to her own food. Breakfast seemed to past without incident after that, to which Rosso quickly collected the empty plates and started to wash them. Strife watched as Rosso washed the dishes, knowing that usually he would be the one doing the dishes. Then he looked down at his arm, and balled his functioning hand into a fist.

'It's her fault that I'm like this anyway… Serves her right to be the one to take over my chores' Strife thought to himself, turning away from the kitchen and walking towards the bar. He stopped at the door, when he heard the others conversing about something. "She's a danger to us… I say we get rid of her now and be done with it!" Strife recognized that gruff voice to be Barrett's voice.

"Well, I don't normally do this... But I agree with lug head! She did quite a number on Vincent and Strife…" Came Cid's voice, followed by a dry chuckle. "She lost her memory guys… She doesn't even know what she can do... So I doubt she is a threat" Tifa protested. "Tifa has a point… If she doesn't even know that we are enemies, how can she be a threat?" Vincent's cold voice carried over.

"Then again, if we're thinking on terms of getting back memories, what about Strife?" Yuffie piped up. There was silence for a few seconds, before someone coughed. "He could be a danger as well….. No telling what he would do…" Barrett said softly, followed by a few grunts of approval. "But…He's been such a help around here! I don't think that even with his memories, he would just…turn on us…" Came Yuffie's shaky voice, followed by a few more grunts of approval.

"Still, we can't just ignore the fact that he could turn into Sephiroth whenever Sephiroth allows it! He could kill us all in our sle-" "Stop it Cloud! Sephiroth has wanted us dead for who knows how long! And here we still stand! Even…..Even if Strife did become Sephiroth, we could still beat him!" Tifa half-yelled, slamming her fist into the table in anger. There was a drawn out pause of silence, which Strife decided to break quickly.

", do you mind if I go for a little walk?" He said quickly, avoiding her gaze as best as he could. "N-no Strife….. Vincent can you go with Strife ple-" "I don't need someone to watch over me, thank you" Strife said coldly, cutting Tifa off and promptly marching out of the double-doors. Everyone in the room was silent, looking from the swinging doors to Tifa, who held an expression of shock on her lips.

"Do…Do you think he heard us?" Cid said softly, voicing everyone's thoughts. "Vincent… I want you to watch him… Take Yuffie with you… But make sure he doesn't see you guys" Cloud said quickly, to which Yuffie and Vincent nodded before rushing out of the doors after him. "Guess I'll take that as a yes" Cid finally concluded, as Tifa straightened up and nodded at Cloud for sending someone after him.

Cloud nodded back and then looked towards the kitchen, noticing that Russo was still working happily. Strife mentally cursed himself, remembering all that was said between the group of friends. "So they don't trust me… Because they think that I'm going to become some guy named Sephiroth and try to take over the damn world…" Strife said angrily under his breath, bringing his walk to a quick halt, as people walked past him.

For once in his life that he could remember, Strife felt truly alone. He sighed softly to himself and continued on his way, not even knowing where he was headed. But then again, he didn't care, as long as he had enough time to straighten his thoughts out. He knew one thing though, he couldn't just return to the Seventh Heaven after what he said to Tifa, not yet anyway. He turned round the corner, which happened to be empty, while unbeknownst to him Yuffie and Vincent were hot on his heels.

"You know… I just thought of something…. Just who the hell is Sephiroth anyway?" Strife practically screamed, leaning against the wall of the alleyway. Yuffie was about to answer his question, when an eerie green aura started to rise around Strife. Strife looked down at the green aura, and tried to wipe to wipe it away frantically as it started to wrap itself around him like the threads of a spider's web.

"STRIFE!" Yuffie yelled, before her and Vincent both jumped down to help him. Yet, by the time they had reached the ground and reached out to grasp at him, the greenish aura seemed to become a cloud of smoke, which cleared instantly, to reveal that Strife was no longer there. Vincent and Yuffie both walked cautiously towards the spot that Strife was standing in before he disappeared.

"Those green vines… They looked oddly like the Lifestream's strings." Vincent said softly, turning to Yuffie who seemed to be rubbing the back of her head in confusion. "Well… One thing is for sure…. Tifa is not going to be happy about this" Yuffie said softly, looking over to Vincent with a pout on her face. Vincent nodded and looked back around the scene, and again saw nothing there that would be any help.

'_Tifa is going to be very pissed… And so is Cloud'_ Vincent thought to himself, as he followed after Yuffie on their way back to the bar and the waiting Tifa.

* * *

Strife: Why is bad stuff always happening to me?  
Kenpachi:I...don't know why... Just like seeing you in pain  
Toya:Hey, atleast you didn't get your limbs cut off...


End file.
